Week ending Saturday 22nd August
Oisin and Jack on the European Stage
It was a very early 7.30am start last Saturday morning for Oisin Lane when he competed in the half marathon race walk at the European T&F Championships in Birmingham. The race was held in the city centre and being so early, temperatures were not as high, but it was still quite warm. With both men and women races starting together, only a minute ahead of the men and women marathon race walk, the course soon became quite crowded and it was quite a spectacle for the large crowd of supporters, including a lot of Irish and a terrific number from Mullingar Harriers, to watch over 100 athletes racing on the tight looped course that meant the athletes came around regularly and could be cheered on enthusiastically every time they passed. Oisin stuck to his race plan and carefully negotiating the tight turns, uphill and downhill sections, differing surfaces, always under the scrutiny of the judges, was in the middle of the pack for much of the race but moving through field over the final few kilometres raced home in a brilliant eleventh place in 1:27.09, a personal best for the distance by a whopping four minutes, which is a brilliant result.
The evening session at the Alexander Stadium included the 10,000m where Jack O’Leary toed the line with 24 others in very warm conditions. The near full attendance generated a terrific atmosphere and the roar from the very large Irish contingent when Jack was introduced at the start was spine tingling. Settling in quickly to the pace, Jack kept right in the thick of the action in the big field and moved up and down the pack as needed to keep himself well placed. Even though this was his first European senior track competition, Jack ran like a seasoned pro and kept working all the way, wisely ignoring a mid-race surge by a small group that would go on to contest the medals. With 3k to go he raced to the front of the chasing pack, to push the pace and roared on by the Irish crowd he raced hard to the finish to cross the line in tenth place in 28:24.89, a season’s best, a brilliant result.
There’s no doubt, both Oisin and Jack can be extremely proud of their performances at the top level in Europe, which will drive them on for future competitions, at European and World level [GD].
Cormac Dalton eclipses the field in Castlepollard
Hosted by North Westmeath AC, the annual Castlepollard 5k attracted a field of 339 runners last Wednesday evening. Conditions were warm and humid, but a slight breeze was helpful to the runners. The course, which is relatively flat, brought the athletes on a looped course from the town through the grounds of Tullynally Castle and returning on the same route to finish in the Market Square.
Like the sun going behind the moon for the eclipse that took place during the race, from the start, Cormac Dalton began to disappear into the distance but reappeared again less than 15 minutes later, nearly a minute ahead of the pack, to win comfortably in 14:09. It has been a difficult few months for Cormac, but he has come through impressively from injury and was very happy to record a comfortable win. Next home for Mullingar Harriers was Mark Darby with his time of 16:09 taking fourth place ahead of Shane McLoughlin in fifth on a time of 16:58. James Keegan was sixth in 17:09, with Kedagh Geoghegan following him over the line in 17:24. Andy Boyhan finished strongly in 17:36, Timmy Mescall completed the distance in 19:11, and there was a great battle just behind him between Kieran Nolan and Tommy Byrne, both credited with the same time of 19:37, giving Kieran second place in his master category and Tommy on his first outing in his new master category was delighted to make a podium finish in third place.
Jacintha Reilly was our first lady home, finishing third in the senior women race in a time of 19:44. Joe Doherty completed the event in 21:18, while Laura Fitzpatrick came home in 22:49. Following them in was Leon Murray (22:50), Paul Plunkett (22:55), Michael Purdue (23:27), Ciara Dillon (23:42), Kevin O’Brien (24:30), while Jennifer Bourke completed her run in 26 minutes even. Aidan O’Donoghue ran 26:50, Louise Gordon completed the course in 27:23, with Breda McDonnell delighted to race walk the distance and win her master category with a time of 58:43 [MO’S].
Longford 5k trail series
Round 2 of the Longford 5k trail series hosted by Longford AC took place last Wednesday evening on Corlea Bog. The organisers arranged for a special viewing of the solstice before the start of the race, which was enjoyed by all 107 athletes who completed the trail run through pathways around cutaway boglands.
As in Round 1, three athletes from Mullingar Harriers took part. Darragh O’Donoghue was our first finisher, coming home in fifth place in 19:21, followed by Therese Glynn and Kieran Dodrill who worked together and crossed the finish line side by side with the same time of 22:46 [MO’S].
